Disclaimer: Not my characters.
Inspired by Parenthood Chapter 93, By Invader Johnny.
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Jade waited patiently for this audition to start. It felt odd, being on this side of the desk. However, now more then before, she had a purpose for doing this all herself. Not just the independent feel, but the need to change who she was, to earn someones affection back.
"Okay, is my two fifteen here?" Jade asked the woman sitting outside. If she was honest, she hadn't expected much from this woman, as she was borrowing this office from her agent's partner, who was a sports agent. Jade had been told that in that line of work, appearance was often more important then competence. The male sports figures they'd often be dealing with respected a pretty secretary, and didn't much care if she was efficient, or professional. NO, those men just saw the pretty girl as a sign of success, and that sold more then the empty promises that often flowed out of the agents mouths.
Jade's request got no response, so the pale girl took the chance to glance out the glass wall, normally easy to do. Only, to control the auditions, she's erected some curtains to both cut down on the light, and give some privacy. So the one time gank pulled back the curtain so her blue eyes could scan the waiting room for the one person she'd invited for the entire hour.
Melinda Murray sat in the outer office, being fawned over by the less then brilliant secretary. Jade's eyes drank in the situation, the way the attractive girl seemed to push her chest out, as if trying to seduce the famous actress. 'Not gay, just, for some people, meeting an idol, they have no idea what to think. That, plus, we all have our lists, don't we."
Jade stepped out into the outer office. "Miss Murray, if you'll just come this way, we can get started."
The woman walked into the office, not sure what to expect, but knowing she wasn't just going to get the job based on her fame alone. "Frankly, I don't even know what I'm doing here…" She started, only to stop. Blue eyes paralyzed her.
"Okay, lets get this over with." Jade breathed, her body holding something back. Rage mixed with regret mixed with who knows what. But the girl wasn't letting her emotions get the better of her, instead, focusing past, to explain herself. 'If I'm gonna succeed, then I need to make sure we're moving forward. Otherwise, I have to go back a step, find me someone else this perfect for my real project.'
Jade motioned for the older actress to sit down. "You're here because you can't get work." The goth started. "Not to make to harsh a point of it, but honestly, you're lucky that your second ex husband took such good care of your earnings, cause you haven't worked since when? Five years since?"
"I've been working on other priorities." Melinda defended herself.
"You were blacklisted." Jade hissed. "You're impossible to work with, and after your last film flopped, they laid the blame on you, and you were done."
"It wasn't my fault…" Melinda was fumbling.
"I know." Jade sighed. "The whole concept was flawed, and they expected you, an actress who's best days were behind her, to carry the film. No, there was no way that was gonna happen. Honestly, beyond just being a bitch, you're not that likable."
"Then I guess we're done here." Melinda said, standing with as much pride as she could. There was hurt, and in a moment, it might well flow out, given she has nothing to lose.
"Far from it." Jade smiled, feeling like maybe she was working this out, at least inside her mind. "See, I'm a recovering bitch myself. Only, as I dragged myself out of the mulch, made a name for myself, I learned the lesson of Doctor Horrible, and found that once I got what I wanted, I found the price was too high. Only, given the nature of the real world, as opposed to musical super villain stories, I have the chance of redeeming myself, finding some happy. But, in order to do so, I need to change more then just myself. Was gonna make a decent actress out of Trina Vega, but her sister went and found another career for her, and I was left out in the cold, figuring shit out."
"And now I'm lost." Melinda Murray noted, hesitating by the door.
"You're unlikable." Jade said flatly. "No one wants to work with you, so you just don't get the breaks. Back when they could bank on you, that was acceptable, because money erases so many sins. Only, you fell, and they couldn't get rid of you fast enough. Lucky you, your adult daughter, the one you still don't like to admit is yours, had you Brittany-ed, took control of your assents, and along with hubby number two, have controlled your assets for the last few years. You don't need to work, at least not for the money. But the fame, yes, that's your drug of choice, isn't it, and I know…"
"Who now, what the holy hell are you getting on about?" The elder actress demanded, stepping back into the room, giving Jade more of her attention, even as she allowed herself to be drawn back into this process.
"SIT!" Jade said, not screaming, but loud, controlled, and leaving no room for debate. "You need a hit, or you're just another retired actress, good enough, but without the skills to manage your estate. Hell, if it weren't for family, people who don't really like you, you'd be broke by now. But your family, they seized control, and give you more then enough to live a decent lifestyle, safely away from the spotlight. Comfortable, and comfortably forgotten. If you want to drink in the admiration of your fans again, you need off the blacklist, and to do that, you have to show you're not the bitch you used to be." Jade unclenched her fists, trying to relax as she pushed forward. "I reform your image, I reform my own, and then, maybe, Crystal Waters will want to talk to me again."
"I see." The woman sneered. "Jade West, rising force in the industry, is interested in Tori Vega."
"Glad you know who I am." Jade told her. "What I want with Vega is my business. However, to get it, I need you to become another person. Someone grateful for the chances she gets. Someone who won't just blame someone else when they forget the scrips, or get a minor character fired just to prove you can. No, this roll, it's important, but it's supporting, main adjacent. You'd be showing the world that Melinda Murray was back, and still a force to be reckoned with, even if she wasn't the center of attention. Then, you could do press, spill the kind of drench that sells this kind of shift. Tell people you're not in it for the money or the fame, but to help the others. That the cast is so talented, with several young, promising actors you were thrilled to work with. That you made friends you'll treasure until the day you die."
"I know the game." Melinda replied almost dismissivly.
"Difference is, this time, the tabloids, the press in general, have to believe it." Jade stressed. "Honestly, not sure you CAN change. But I'm gonna do what I can, if you sign on, so we can make the last years of your life different then the previous. You, miss, are gonna change, have those people in your life, just so you won't be remembered as this ungrateful bitch who was forgotten as soon as she was out of sight."
"Whatever." Melinda sighed. "Not sure I want this part any more. Feels like too much work for too little reward."
"Changing your life to get off the blacklist, so you can spend the next twenty years doing guest appearances and otherwise soaking in what little of the spotlight you may have coming?" Jade guessed. "Yea, you'll take the part, and do it, just because."
The older woman wasn't sure, and certainly wasn't thrilled. Pretending, that she could do. But to actually change, not be the diva, she wasn't sure. "Not sure I want to change."
"Yea, I get it." The director slash producer slash (In this case) actress smiled. "Worried that they won't treat you like a star if your not making unreasonable demands. Do you know about the odd conditions in a bands contracts? The things like no green M&M's, or a ten foot snake must be back stage? That started as a test, with Van Halen needing to know that the contract, in it's entirety, was read, because back in the early eighties they were offering one of the first modern rock tours, and the power requirements, the weight of the sets, was more then had been used in the past. For their own safety, the band needed to know that the rider had been read, so they put in the obscure green M&M requirement as a test. It was buried in the contract, and only occurred when the promoters had read everything. David Lee Roth said that seeing the women sorting the M&M's as required by the contract, a bowl with no green one's, was a moment of relief for the band, cause they didn't have to worry about what might go wrong."
"You\re point?" The older woman wondered.
"You don't HAVE to act like a diva to be respected. In fact, look at the younger generations, the major forces in music and acting. So many of them are described as sweethearts." Jade explained. "Just, about this. You'll find that, as a grateful actress, you'll be seen as hungry, AND easy to work with. Just, find a reason OTHER then your ego, and go from there."
"Done some deep reflecting there." Melinda accused.
"Looked into Rita Farr, and found I agree with her self assessment." Jade shrugged. "So, it's like this. You, you're gonna learn how to be grateful, and use that to help you find the character. Hell, I wrote the character with an underlying layer of gratitude, just to make it easier for us all. So, you'll be following a schedule I make for you, including meditation, studies in spirituality, and for good measure, a little charity. Hell, I'm even plotting out how we can have you and all your exes work out a LOT of your differences. Loads of bad blood to work through. But to change, you need to see that we won't hold a grudge, not if you're willing to show the work."
"And that. My dear, is where you're hope is bleeding through." The experienced actress noted. "You're looking to win back a friend….." Her eyes narrowed. "Lover?"
"You have a problem with that?" Jade threatened.
"There were timers I wished I were gay." Melinda said, showing a rare glimpse behind the veil she'd to keep people away for most of her life. "No, not gay. I just, I sometimes wish I could have someone who I could trust to understand."
"Go on." Jade urged. Then, she sighed. "This is good. Tell me, open up, just understand, it's not easier with a girl." Jade shook her head. "And for the record, only got interested in her after I read about how she and some chick broke up. Had no idea she was into girls, but when I did, suddenly I had to face everything I'd done to her throughout High school…"
"When you were dating Beck Oliver." Melinda said, shocking Jade. "Whom I had fired back when he was in his first movie roll. A roll he got back after miss Vega got me maimed." It was an exaggeration, just a bolt through the hand, but more then enough to prevent her from finishing the project
"Did you know she felt guilty about that?" Jade asked. "Even as everyone seemed so much happier about you being off the movie, she felt horrible because you got hurt, and she just wasn't that kind of girl."
"But you were." Melinda said, smiling. "Okay, I could almost never trust enough to really open up, because I'd lay out a test, and then the people I loved, I'd trusted, they'd prove I couldn't trust them."
"Yea, the tests." Jade nodded. "Just, make sure the tests are accurate. If you make em too hard, then no one ever passes. Learned that the hard way. But if you make it too easy, then people who might hurt you keep showing up in your life. That's Vega's problem."
"Was this new sexuality why you and Beckett broke up?" It was direct, but given where the conversation had been going, Jade accepted it as part of the audition.
"No." Jade shook. "I drove him away. The most understanding guy I've ever met, and I drove him away. Yea, I need some understanding, someone to take my side, believe in me, cause I've done it all by myself for years, and while I get results, I don't get what I wanted."
"Which is?" Melinda leaned forward, now seeing so much of herself in this younger girl.
"Love." Jade smiled. "The kind of love you were supposed to get as a child. The love my parents failed to give me, when they fought over who would be stuck with me. Attention, cause Counting Crows sounded right, when they paraphrased the idea that when everybody loves you, you'll actually feel it."
"Sucks that it doesn't work." Melinda said. "But you have to admit, the white hot spotlight, it does draw, substituting for that love."
"Yea, I think we can work with each other." Jade broke off the moment. "|I think, with some training, maybe you'll find the person you could have been, if the draw of fame, the promises it made, hadn't taken your empathy away. Melinda, miss Murray, the pars yours, if you want it."
For her part, Melinda was terrified. This level of openness wasn't something she'd faced very often, and as she'd said, each time she did, it hurt. Only, this time, it wasn't her heart on the line so much as another shot at the limelight, the fame and adoration of the crowds. 'She's wrong, the crowds love, it's intoxicating. So, to get it back, I need to let her change me? Why is it I think that's whats gonna happen? And maybe Tori Vega will get someone decent? I mean, how long can karma make her pay for what she'd done to me?' That thought relaxed her. "I suspect this will be one of the hardest shoots for either of us." A dark laugh erupted from her lips. "I look forward to it."
Melinda stood up, hesitating long enough to find out when she'd get the contract. "My secretary will give it to you." Jade said.
"So in the next few days?" Melinda said. "Honestly, you think I don't know a sports agent's office when I'm in one? No, that woman out there, she's not good at being a secretary, just looking hot."
"Okay, I'll send you the contract." Jade sighed. "And I look forward to working with you."
With that, the aging actress was on her way, and Jade worked to gather herself back. 'Got too personal for a moment. Gotta be sharp, cause this film, it's too important not to put my best into it. After all, this is where I rehab my image, make it safe for Tori to want to be near me. Romance, if it happens or not, can only come after I change my image.'
She was shaking when she contacted her temporary secretary. "Next."
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Guessing you can say, as I read Invader Johnny's chapter, I realized I was more into redemption then revenge. Too much suffering in sometimes, and today, I just needed a happy ending.
Thoughts.